Photo taken using Canon PowerShot SD850 IS
El Desnivel is a parrilla restaurant located in the San Telmo neighborhood in Buenos Aires; more specifically Capital Federal. I’ve eaten here twice and have encountered both ends of the spectrum in terms of service and overall dining experience.
My first time eating at El Desnivel made me think this was the type of place I’d enjoyed; loud and bustling with many locals, attentive service, good prices, and great meat (especially the chorizo). I felt that most of the clientele were locals enjoying their Saturday night before heading to one of the many bars in San Telmo. The overflow of chatter from table to table gave me the sense that we were in a cool atmosphere where everyone was very carefree and there to have a good time. After this experience, El Desnivel ranked as my second favorite parrilla in Buenos Aires to Don Julio.
However, all that changed the second time around. Maybe it was because I was visiting in high season or maybe the place has gone down the tubes, but my second and possibly last visit to El Desnivel was, as hard to believe, the complete opposite. I swear, probably every Frommers, Fodors, and Lonely Planet type of travel guides must have written that this was a place to eat when in San Telmo. The loud bustling crowd still existed but switch out the locals and chatter of Spanish with much more English. The attentive service by the middle-age career waiter was replaced by a younger, lesser experienced waiter who obviously felt the pressure of the large crowd and failed to remember my entire order while taking forever to bring me my bill. The quality of the asado de tira was alright, I probably should’ve ordered bife de lomo like last time, but the chorizo which I had placed in such high regard didn’t have that same sense of satisfaction. Maybe it was because when I received the chorizo it was not piping hot fresh off the grill as I’ve come to expect? When cutting into it, there wasn’t that pop cracking sound when cutting into the chorizo casing. Nonetheless, the experience left a bitter disappointing taste and needless to say El Desnivel had dropped significantly on my personal list of favorite parrillas.
Possibly things would be better if I went again during low season but that shouldn’t be an excuse. El Desnivel is probably the most popular of the San Telmo parrillas and worth checking out. You’ll either have an experience where you feel as though your in the middle of a sea of porteños or in another tourist trap. We know I’ve experienced both.
